Why I’m Leaving RWA

This blog is for my writer friends. I went back and forth for two weeks about whether to publish this blog. I could leave quietly, and that would be that … but change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. I don’t know if my exit survey will be taken seriously or even understood. Maybe I didn’t explain myself well enough. So I’m posting this blog. I care about RWA and the organization and people who have championed romance for so many years. I just don’t have the energy to try and fix what is so seriously broken. Maybe others will. My prayers go out to them.

In 2003, I joined RWA after I wrote two manuscripts and had an agent … but I hadn’t sold. I’d been seriously writing for a year and my goal was to make a career as a published author. I wanted to quit my job in the Legislature and write full time. A friend of mine was a member of the Sacramento Valley Rose chapter of RWA and said I could come as a guest to see if I would enjoy it, too.

My first meeting had a panel of authors, including Brenda Novak who has since become a good friend, who talked about writing for both Harlequin (shorter romances) and bigger, single title books for either Harlequin or another publisher. I found that there was a wealth of information among these talented women, but better, someone else told me about the Kiss of Death on-line chapter for romantic suspense writers. To belong to either group, I had to first join RWA … so I did.

Within that first year of membership, I absorbed everything I could from KOD and my local chapter. I made friends, some of whom I consider my best author friends. I also wrote three more books. After a chapter meeting at the end of 2003 with a guest agent, I realized that the agent I was currently with wasn’t the right agent for me — I promptly terminated the agreement, finished my fifth manuscript, learned how to craft a good query letter and synopsis (through an online class taught by Laurie Campbell), and ended up finding a top agent who sold my fifth manuscript within days of submitting.

I firmly believe that with or without RWA, I would have been published. I had made the commitment to myself — this was my goal, it had been my dream since I was a child, that had been waylaid by marriage, family and career. However, I know that because of the people I met and information I learned through those first early years of RWA, that I sold faster — only two years after I made my personal commitment to finish a book and seek publication. Through RWA I met some of my favorite people today, found a critique group, and through them learned how to be a better writer. I took many online classes — most through the Kiss of Death chapter — to learn how to write stronger characters, craft better sentences, create more emotion, and increase the suspense. I wasn’t a bad writer, but these classes helped me improve my weak areas and make my strong areas stronger.

Yesterday, I let my membership to RWA lapse — 14 years after I first joined. I wasn’t going to blog about this — about the why — but my mother convinced me that I needed to share my story, and my frustrations. Perhaps because my mother is as upset as I am — I usually bring her to the RWA conferences with me because she loves reading romances and she loves meeting her favorite authors. But she, too, understands why RWA no longer is what it once was, and why it no longer fits my needs … and hasn’t for a long time.

First, I want to unequivocally state that while I do have justified criticisms, I am not anti-RWA. I believe they meet the goals of many writers, and that they are still a voice for professional romance writers.

There were two reasons I almost rejoined RWA: first, the Kiss of Death romantic suspense chapter. I love KOD and the people I’ve met through KOD. KOD still meets my needs — for research, for a well-run contest (one of only three I enter each year), and for networking. I will miss it. Second, I was very happy with the RWA response to the New York Times decision to eliminate mass market paperbacks and ebooks from their bestseller lists. RWA firmly opposed this decision — partly because it disproportionally impacts romance writers who are disproportionally female writers. That action — the first real, substantive action I’ve seen RWA take that could directly impact my career — had me clicking the membership page to renew.

Yet I didn’t.

When my membership lapsed and I went into a 30 day grace period, I received a renewal letter from RWA listing all the benefits of membership. I realized that these no longer apply to me, and haven’t for quite some time. Considering the expense of joining (RWA plus Kiss of Death plus my local chapter if I decided to renew) I didn’t find that the benefits really helped me.

This was a hard decision because I believe in giving back … yet I have been giving back for more than a decade. I present at conferences, I give on-line workshops at least once a year, I go to local chapter meetings to speak, to local conferences, and answer questions on the RWA discussion boards. I’ve judged the Golden Heart many times and the RITA every year I was eligible, except this year. I’ve written articles for the monthly RWR, mentored aspiring authors, and have shared information about the industry and craft whenever asked.

So I went through the career benefits one by one and I couldn’t find any that I even marginally benefit from.

For example, the PAN community — for published authors — is dominated by indie authors. That’s great — I, too, have self-published a few books. But it’s not my bread-and-butter, and the PAN loop is mostly about topics I have zero interest in. I analyzed the last two months of digests from PAN, and there were only two threads where I felt I could even contribute minimally.

This isn’t to say that other people aren’t able to benefit from these conversations. Only that I, as a traditionally published author, not only can’t benefit, but I can’t contribute as it’s outside my expertise. Because I have self-published some books, I have enough knowledge to understood that business, and I know exactly where to go for more information when I need it.

The RWA conferences have done the same thing — the last one I attended was really indie-focused and I didn’t find much that I was interested in attending. I really can’t afford to go to a conference just to socialize (however much fun it is!)

I was very optimistic about the RWA Honor Roll, and I commend RWA for trying to serve their bestselling authors. But one thing I’ve learned is that most of us on the Honor Roll are either too busy to chat on the loop and work to build a community, and most of us have our own private communities (a critique partner, a small group of trusted friends) where we ask more sensitive questions and seek opinions. So the loop has very little activity, and thus is not a good reason to maintain my membership.

Overall, as I wrote in my exit survey that RWA sent me, there are three main reasons I’m not renewing my membership:

I feel that RWA is more “Indie Romance Writers of America.” I could be wrong, and I’m not saying that being an indie author is wrong — it’s right for many people. I only think that for those of us traditionally published, there’s not as much we gain from any of the RWA communities.

I was more than a little angry about how the RITAs have changed. First all the changes to categories over the years irritated me, but RWA and the board worked to fix those issues. But now that I was too late — 36 hours after the contest opened — to enter my ONE romantic suspense title? Yes, I’m mad. There is something fundamentally flawed with the system and it’s only gotten worse over the years.

The disaster called PREMIERE — first RWA anthology.

I’m going to elaborate on this because it, even more than the RITAs, made my decision for me.

First, I read the anthology when it was published and it was filled with well-written, well-edited stories. While not all of them were my cup of tea, I found no fault with the content. The authors included were professional and they offered up good stories.

But as a contributing author, I had major problems with the production of the anthology.

The title. The theme of the anthology was “Wrong Number” and every story had to address that in some way. (Mine dealt with a dyslexic thief who broke into the wrong apartment.) It’s catchy and clearly shows the theme of the anthology. They changed it to PREMIERE. What does that tell readers? I have no idea. It doesn’t speak to me.

The cover. Woman eating chocolates. What does that mean? And with the title? Non-sequitor. Ugh.

Self-published. RWA decided to self-publish because they weren’t satisfied with the offers they received. I don’t know what those offers were, I just know based on my experience with the Thriller anthologies, that ITW received six-figure advances for multiple anthologies (they announced this to the membership, I’m not giving away inside information.) The anthology proceeds run the ITW organization. I assume that the accounting for the RWA anthology will be made available to the membership because the treasurer will need to issue a report at conference — as a contributor, I haven’t seen it, and it took me nearly a year to get a small part of the information I asked for. But what I did receive told me that the anthology made far, far less than six-figures — in two full years. I still don’t know how many copies were sold, but I suspect less than 20,000 (based on the limited information I have seen.) I really hope that RWA does an accounting to the membership. I won’t get it, because I’m no longer a member, but members need to know. Especially since they’re producing another anthology.

In no world do I live in would I imagine that an anthology with some of the best-selling romance writers today across every sub-genre would sell so pitifully.

Full disclosure: When RWA decided to self-publish the anthology, they offered authors an out of the contract we signed. I could have walked with my story, and I seriously considered it. But I wrote “Their Night Off” specifically for the anthology, it was already written and edited. So I left it in. I wasn’t making money off it, but I had hoped RWA would benefit (my way of giving back) and that I might find some new readers who liked my voice.

I think RWA made a huge mistake self-publishing, and I believe they would have made more money, sold more books, reached more readers, and had more effective marketing had they sold it to a Big 5 publisher. Yes, hindsight is 50/50, but with my experience with Thriller Writers and my experience as both a traditional author and a self-pub author, I really think that I’m not the only one who saw this coming.

In conclusion, I still have a lot of respect for RWA. They are one of the few major organizations that welcomes aspiring as well as published authors. Writers can learn a lot from the organization, but specifically from the authors who have come before. And that is what I’m afraid of — as more successful authors find that RWA hasn’t served their needs in a long time—that RWA doesn’t really listen to their published authors as they once did— that they, too, will leave. Most of the authors I know who stay are staying because of their attachment to and love for their local chapter, or because of the conferences where they can catch up with old friends, their agent or editor. I’ve been thinking of leaving for several years because of the the way the organization has changed related to blended genres (i.e. romantic suspense and women’s fiction) and how they responded when the Kiss of Death chapter stood up and complained. And now, I can find no reason to stay.

Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.

17 comments on “Why I’m Leaving RWA”

Well stated, Allison. I, too, wondered about renewing. I have no local chapter anymore due to RWA’s rules about who can be an officer, and being a long distance member of the next nearest chapter isn’t a huge benefit. I still love KOD, am a member of PAN, but even as an indie author, I’m finding the information provided in the RWA loops isn’t as helpful as it used to be. I haven’t attended a conference in years, finding smaller, local conferences meet my needs and they’re not necessarily RWA affiliates. My membership is up in June, and I’ll be doing more thinking before I renew as well.

This post started out much longer and I talked about the chapters falling apart because of the new and cumbersome rules … too many people I’ve spoken with have said they think their chapter will be forced to dissolve this year.

There is a cost to membership, and we have to make choices based on what is best for our career and where we get value. I left NINC two years ago because I didn’t feel they were what they used to be, but I might go back and see if they have gotten their act together.

I’m still with NINC, although for purely “selfish” reasons, I don’t go to their conferences. I hated the hotel they had, and although I still get some decent ‘meat’ from their Yahoo group and newsletters, I was very disappointed that they contracted with the same hotel for at least five years without asking the membership. But then, I lived in Florida for over 30 years, and a tacky resort on the beach had no appeal.

Sorry to read this. I completely understand why you left, but I will miss reading your comments on the loops.

You might not remember me, but I won having lunch with you at the 2011 Nationals (NYC). I didn’t say much (I never do), but will remember it always. You gave me your Lucy Kincaid short story and I’ve been hooked on the series ever since.

I’m sorry you’re leaving, Allison. You’ve always been someone I’ve looked up to and especially appreciated in loop discussions, etc. I understand your points though. I agree with your assessment of the anthology, to which I also contributed. The cover and title never made sense to me, and they also listed and promoted my story as new adult, though it totally was not LOL. And it has performed super flat, from everything I can tell, which is a shame. Best wishes to you!

Thank you for this, Allison! I appreciate knowing the why. You’ll be missed–I always “perked up” when scanning digest emails if there was a reply in there from you! It’s funny–I’ve been toying with dropping, but my reasons are different than yours. I’m only indie published and have felt that RWA serves trad better than indie! Although I did not go to the conference last year, I was disappointed in the one before (NYC)… Like you, I feel there are serious problems with the RITA. I do think the folks at RWA work really hard, but it’s a big organization, and big poses challenges no matter the field. For now, I keep the membership solely for my connection to my local chapter. Great group, and my critique partners are involved there, too. But as I look at the renewal payments for both—and the challenges of finding any traction in the market especially as an indie, I really struggle with the choice. I can’t afford (either time-wise or income-wise) to attend many conferences, although I’d love to for the networking alone. At this point I definitely feel that something like sleuthfest, ninc, thriller fest, or indie-uncons will serve me better than any local or national romance event. Part of that’s the genre I’m in, part of it’s the stage of publishing I’ve reached. And that’s not really their fault. They try to serve everyone, but I’m just not sure it’s really feasible.

I love kiss of death, and I loved my Sacramento chapter except that I could never go to meetings because of the kids sports, so I stopped going … I think RWA shouldn’t try to be everything to everyone, but they also need to understand that published authors are why so many aspiring writers get involved … they see a goal and they have people who want to help the reach it.

Indie authors and traditional authors have many commonalities, but also many differences in our approach and what we need at different levels. The PAN loop had a long thread about research for historicals … which should be on a craft or research loop, not a published author loop. But it’s like a catch all now and I don’t have the time to weed through it.

I’m sad, but feel good about my decision. I hope they can fix the big stuff.

Allison, I left NINC after a brief membership because they weren’t meeting my needs as a traditionally published author. I heard people actually say out loud at the conference how dumb they thought traditional authors were to go that route–so I felt really unwelcome and quit soon thereafter. Not to mention how rude some of the speakers were: I’ll never forget Lucia Macro walking out of a talk after the speaker disparaged the Big Five! I also complained to the president about the NINC loop being about people’s astrological concerns instead of about writing and publishing and got huge pushback. The whole group just wasn’t my vibe *at all.* The irony is, of course, that it started out as a place for traditionally pubbed authors to go get better business information. I wonder how they’re doing now? I quit about three years ago.

I stopped going to the national RWA conference after San Antonion when they turned down all four of my workshop ideas, one of which was a panel with Jen Enderlin, Darynda Jones, Mary Kay Andrews, and me on the topic of voice. That same year they gave a bunch of indie writers sometimes up to four workshops each on the topic of indie book covers, marketing, etc. I felt right there the huge switch in priorities for RWA and it just didn’t serve my needs.

So I’m going back this year to see what’s new. I’m also running for the board because why not? Like you, I’m not going to leave until I give it my all. I do feel a lot of gratitude to RWA because without it, I would have taken longer to get published. In fact, I wish I had discovered it a lot sooner than I did. So I’m a team player and will see what I can do to contribute, is anyone’s interested, that is. And I’ll go from there.

I will say that your leaving is a huge loss to RWA. And I’m sad for your mom, too. Thanks for being such a positive presence in the organization. XOXO

I just saw this Kieran — sorry! I left NINC as well largely for the same reasons you did, though I haven’t been to a conference. I left about 2 years ago. The last conference I went to was also San Antonio … I had one workshop in a tiny room that was packed (yeah me!) but was so crowded people left … and other authors who have never hit a list were given huge rooms. I’m not being a diva … just stating a fact. I usually get a great turnout for my villain workshop because so few romance authors have a talk directed specifically at the story antagonist.

Thank you for sharing this. I have always admired you. You were one of the first people I met when I joined in 2009 and attended the conference in DC. I had the pleasure of sitting at the same table as you for the keynote luncheon that year. (Thanks to Rocki.) I even met your mom at one point during the conference and always enjoyed seeing her at subsequent conferences. I have attended your workshops.

As a writer and a reader, I admire and enjoy your writing. I always recommend your books to my friends. You never disappoint . . . Your latest, Make Them Pay is a perfect example. From the moment I started reading it, I was intrigued and don’t want to put it down. What can I say? I am a big fan!

There has been talk within my local chapter as to whether or not we will be able to sustain our association with RWA because some of the more recent policies seem to hurt smaller groups. Restrictions regarding board positions, etc. As an unpublished author, I still feel like I need the connection to RWA, but if my local chapter dies I will be very disappointed.

I can not attend national every year. I can not justify the expense. I have tried to attend every other year. Although I noticed several workshops get repeated from year to year and there was definitely much more about self publishing at the last one I attended in NYC. But to spend that much money only to go to workshops is a luxury I can’t afford, not when there are so many awesome workshops offered online.

Anne — I totally remember meeting you in DC — and thank you about Make Them Pay, I’m so glad you liked it!

I’m still going to be around answering questions and hanging out on Facebook (I only blog roughly monthly … though I’m going to try and blog more. I always say that!)

I’m frustrated about the organizational changes and I don’t buy their explanations. I think they sometimes talk down to us and they often tells us, “We have to because of the IRS” but don’t give clear and well-explained reasons. And sometimes, I think we need a second opinion on this stuff. And so much stuff is handled in executive session and they can’t talk about it, which frustrates me. It’s the “trust us” mentality and, frankly, I don’t anymore.

I’ve been gone two months and haven’t missed it. But then again, I’ve been writing A LOT.

Allison, you will be missed. But, I do understand why you didn’t renew. I made my Pro membership when they changed the rules or were changing them about membership. I had two rejections from Harlequin and I shrugged them off. I had subbed the last one after I pitched online on a whim and the editor asked for it. I can’t say I was disappointed when it was rejected. As soon as they talked about changing things, I submitted the pro application and the manuscript that was rejected. I received my Pro Pin. Now, they make members buy the pin, I think if I read it right. That’s sad to me.
My local chapter in East Texas might fold because there are only 10-11 members, and the board rules prevent them from having a board if they’ve all served. I disagree with the only on one board thing. I’m membership director for KOD. That means I can’t serve on any other board. That makes no sense to me. An online chapter vs the actual physical one it should be okay to serve on both.
I renewed, but I can’t afford the conference. I went in 2014 and was disappointed after my first one in 2013. I don’t know about others, but I don’t like the change for the awards. I always thought of the awards ceremony as the grand finale of the conference. I hope to go to Denver, but it depends on my money. I went in the hole to go to San Antonio, so excited because it was in my home state and not so far away. I don’t fly I enjoy driving to the conferences and sight seeing on the way to and from.
Hope we see you teaching another workshop for KOD again soon.
Make Them Pay was awesome. I keep going back reading passages of it again and again gleaning more from it each time.

The small chapters are going to disappear and that is sad to me. Even moderate sized chapters like mine in Sacramento are having problems. Conferences are expensive — and seem to be more and more expensive — for no reason I understand. It’s about priorities — and I think we get into a situation where the same people are making the decisions every year without having to justify the decisions. But whatever. Conferences don’t make the writer. Writing makes the writer. The only thing I’m going to miss is KOD.

I just attended by first RWA conference. I’m a recently self-published author and was hoping to learn more. I’ve taken numerous online classes on craft and it was suggested that I also focus on craft at the conference. Unfortunately, the classes were pretty much a repeat of those I’ve taken online. In some cases, the speakers were impossible to hear as the sound system was terrible in some rooms. One had a powerpoint with the print so small it couldn’t be read by anyone but those in the front rows. (I left.) It was also suggested that I volunteer for networking purposes. I had no problem being asked to volunteer but forget about the networking. Most of us were too busy to even take the time to read name tags. Based on the Literary Signing it would seem that more and more traditionally published authors are not participating in RWA. I was fortunate to be in the first 2,000 to enter but based on the books I received to judge the quality of the material didn’t matter.

I’ve enjoyed your novels and would appreciate your opinion on whether money spent on RWA is worth it for a newbie and/or if there are other avenues to access online classes that don’t require membership to RWA. I may decide to traditionally publish but while honing my skills I have no problem with self-publishing.

Hi CF — I’m going to send this message to you privately as well, but wanted to post here too. Sorry I didn’t see this right when you posted!

I haven’t been to an RWA conference since San Antonio a few years ago. I’ve been to 9 or 10 conferences since 2005 and while I have always gotten something from them, I don’t attend for anything craft related and never have. As you said, there are so many great on-line workshops that are more detailed and more intimate that going to a one hour workshop is really just to give you a taste of the topic. I’ve also found that in many craft related workshops the information is too broad to be helpful — trying to appeal to writers of all levels of experience. Some conferences have had great sound; others not so great. The last conference I was at I presented a workshop on “the romantic suspense triangle” about the importance of the hero/heroine and villain each having strong goals, motivation and conflict. They put me in a tiny room, it was hot, and there was no room for anyone to sit. I was upset and angry. Either the organizers thought I wasn’t a draw or they didn’t like the topic. Whatever. The same conference had dozens of workshops on how to self-publish, which wasn’t of interest to me.

I have heard many traditionally published authors are leaving RWA because we don’t feel they represent us anymore. There are many reasons for this, more than what I went into on my article. But I also recognize that there are many, many authors who are choosing to self-publish, and because of that, RWA is trying to appeal to them and maintain their membership numbers. Because they have huge numbers, RWA has shifted. I get that. They’re a business. But as a businesswoman, I don’t have to use them if they don’t benefit me. I have given back for years — presented workshops, answered emails, been on loops to give information and advice when asked, etc — so I don’t have any guilt about leaving. I’ve done my part — more than my part, I feel at times.

On your other point about honing your skills. I would never self-publish anything that is not “good enough” for traditional publishing. Just my unasked for advice to you. If you put your name on it, it should be as good as you can make it. While recognizing that we all improve our writing and storytelling skills over time (my most recent book is far better written with a tighter story than my first published book), you shouldn’t put something out just to have something published. When you want to try to break into the traditional world, your self published books are out there — including reviews, sales numbers, and content. That’s going to mean something to prospective publishers and agents.

I almost stuck around RWA because of the Kiss of Death (romantic suspense) chapter which I still received great value from. I can’t tell you whether to stay or go — you need to weigh the benefits to your career for yourself. It’s going to be different for everyone. But definitely consider what you gain and what it costs and whether it’s worth it.

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Bio:

Allison Brennan

Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.